How to Make Hypertufa Pots – Beginners Start to Finished Planter - safety: wear gloves & mask

How To Make a Hypertufa – Items Needed: Container (flexible preferred, plastic or fiber pots work best), Plastic, Cork, Portland Cement, Peat Moss, Perlite or Vermiculite, Fiberglass Shreds (optional but recommended), Water, Mixing Container

Recipe: 1 part Portland cement
1 ½ parts Peat Moss
1 ½ part Perlite or Vermiculite
1 handful Fiberglass Mesh

**Recomend wearing a mask & gloves when mixing Ingredients**

1. Start by breaking up your peat moss and sifting out any large clumps, sticks, debris, etc. You can use hardware cloth or a piece of metal mesh fencing over a wheelbarrow / container. Rub the peat moss over the metal cloth/fence. You can also buy peat moss already shredded. Add the peat moss to the perlite or vermiculite and mix. Use gloves moving forward. Next add the Portland cement and mix. Finally add fiberglass shreds if applicable. Mix thoroughly. You can also add concrete dye at this point if you’d like a different color. Depending on container size, how much mix you need will vary. It can’t hurt to make more than you need and set some dry mix aside should you need extra mix later on it will be readily available.
2. Add water to mixture until it has the consistency similar to brownie mix; when you squeeze a handful, you’ll want a few drops of water to ring out but not a steady stream (that’s too wet). Add a little water at a time and stir. You can always add more water until you get it right, but its hard to fix if you add too much water. If you do add too much water, you’ll have to add more mix to absorb extra water.
3. Lay plastic sheet inside your container, pressing it against the edges as best you can. You’ll want a minimum of 6” extra plastic over your pot as the plastic can sag/sink as you start to fill with cement. Place cork in the middle of the bottom; this will be your drainage hole when done.
4. Start by packing down mix around the cork and the bottom. This will help lock cork into place so it doesn’t move. You will want about 1” thickness on the bottom and sides. You can mark the cork beforehand at 1” so you know when you reach the mark it will be the right depth.
5. Next start packing the mixture up the sides, padding it with your hands as you go to blend everything together and to help get rid of any air bubbles in the mixture.
6. Once you get to the top, you’ll want to create a nice wide rim for your hypertufa. Form it like you would pie crust, pinching and tapping to create a nice wide rim at the top.
7. Now that your hypertufa is created, place a 2nd sheet of plastic over the whole form and place in a cool (not freezing) dark area for 48 hours. After 48 hours, you can remove your form. Gently flip your container over and tap the bottom; the new form should pop out. You can also pull the plastic liner to help free the form. Using pliers, lightly grab the cork and twist out slowly from the inside of the pot.
8. If needed, you can use a wire brush to clean the form of any bumps or particles out of place.
9. Your hypertufa needs to cure for a few weeks so you can either leave it outside and let mother nature do the work or you can rinse it every few days to help leach out any alkalinity remaining from the cement.
10. After 2 weeks, you are ready to plant your new hypertufa!
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🌱 How to Make Hypertufa Pots – Beginners Start to Finished Planter 🪴

⏱ Timestamps:
What’s a Hypertufa Intro 00:05
Hypertufa Recipe 00:40
Preparing Peat Moss 00:48
Adding Perlite (or Vermiculite) 02:32
Adding Fiberglass Mesh 03:30
Adding Portland Cement 04:13
Making Extra Mix 05:20
Prepping & Picking the Pot 06:38
Adding Water to the Mix 08:15
Molding the Pot Bottom & Sides 11:11
If You Added Too Much Water Tips 13:57
Making More, Ran Out 14:15
Molding the Top 14:31
Finishing Touches 17:27
Cost & Time Investment w/Next Steps 17:58
Finished Pot - 48 Hours Later 19:32
Removing the Hypertufa Pot 19:55
Removing the Cork & Creating the Drain-hole 20:45
Smoothing out the Edges 21:42
Curing the Pot 22:32

**Recomend wearing a mask & gloves when mixing Ingredients**

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